2018 Champaign Countywide Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

The cities of Champaign and Urbana along with Champaign County, Parkland College, and the University of Illinois invite the public to join them in 2018 Champaign Countywide Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Friday, January 12, 2018 at Vineyard Church, located at 1500 North Lincoln Avenue in Urbana.

The event organizers gather annually as a community to remember and honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The theme of this free 17th annual event is Fifty years past, fifty years forward…our future dreamers.

According to the MLK Planning Committee, “Dr. King believed in the power of the word DREAM. He expressed a vision of a better world – a vision that was compelling enough to withstand challenges, discouragements, and obstacles.”

The 2018 event will honor outstanding youth from Champaign County including Champaign, Urbana, and Rantoul middle and high school students. Award categories include the following: 

• Peace and Non-Violence Youth Award: Awarded to a person who has organized or participated in events which reinforce effective communications and problem solving within our community/or schools.
• Social Justice Youth Award: Awarded to a person who upholds a standard of integrity and pursues justice for others in our community or schools.
• Building Bridges Youth Award: Awarded to a person who has taken action in unifying their peers and establishing common ground for the good of others.
• Spirit of Love Youth Award: Awarded to a person who engages in activities which seeks to uplift others in our community or schools.
• The Dream Youth Award: Awarded to a person who has demonstrated a vision and ability in the areas of math, science, technology and/or engineering

*Award winners will be announced sometime prior to the program date.

The event will also feature guest speaker Sally K. Carter, Founder and Chief Executive of Tap In Leadership Academy, a relationship-centered after-school and summer enrichment program that creates communities of leaders and engaged scholars who think in a new perspective about themselves, their community, and the world.

For more information about the 2018 Champaign Countywide Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration please visit www.mlkcelebration.org or call Ms. Vacellia Clark, Human Relations Officer at the City of Urbana at 217/384-2466.